The recent purge of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's once-powerful uncle could herald a period of radical upheaval comparable to China's Cultural Revolution, Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera said Thursday.

Pro-Western Ukrainians on Sunday held the biggest protest rally in Kiev since the 2004 Orange Revolution, urging the government to sign a historic pact with the European Union and clashing with police.

Huge crowds were expected to demonstrate in Egypt on Friday for the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought in an Islamist government, at a time of political tensions and economic woes.